Continuum
by The Wanderluster
Summary: In a desperate attempt to make Morgana see the error of her ways, Merlin sends her far away to an alternate reality where she has to live as a commoner, relearn everything she thought she knew, and, perhaps most unfortunately, deal with a certain Prince of Camelot.
1. One

**Author's Note:** Hello everyone! The idea behind this story has been in my head for weeks and simply refused to leave me alone so I decided I might as well give it a go. This is my first story so I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thank you for reading!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Merlin (unfortunately).

* * *

Continuum

**ONE  
**

Morgana stopped in her tracks and turned around. Nobody was there. Assuring herself it was just the strong night wind, she wrapped her cloak tighter around her body and resumed walking down the corridor as hurriedly as possible. The moon was already at its highest point in the sky, and Morgana knew that her sister did not like to be kept waiting. She would meet Morgause to speak of their plans, return to her chambers in the castle, and wake up in the morning ready to act the perfect ward that Camelot knew and loved.

As she reached a spiral staircase leading down to the ground floor, she gathered her long skirts and began to descend quickly. All of a sudden, the burning torch on the wall seemed to grow tenfold and the flames leap out at her. Morgana screamed in shock and lost her footing as she tried to step back. She could feel her bones cracking with every step that her body collided with on the way down.

Sprawled on the floor on the bottom of the stairs, she could barely make out a figure standing above her but through the agonizing pain she could only see shadows.

"It's time you understood how thankful you should be for the life you've been given."

That voice… she recognised it! It was… it was…

She saw a flash of golden eyes before the darkness took her.

Morgana slowly let her eyes flicker open, before quickly shutting them again to evade the harsh sunlight. She gave a small moan of annoyance. Why had Gwen drawn the curtains before she had woken?

"Morgana, you're awake!"

Her eyes flew open suddenly. Arthur was sat down on the side of her bed, grinning ear to ear.

"Arthur?" her voice sounded hoarse, as if she hadn't spoken for an eternity.

"I was so worried, I didn't know what to do!" the blond man put his hand on Morgana's cheek and stroked her pale skin with his thumb.

Morgana was taken back by the unusual act of affection. Sure, Arthur gave her the occasional friendly hug on her birthday or when she was particularly upset, but she didn't recall him ever touching her face or anything of the sort.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You don't remember? You fell off the horse. You've been unconscious for almost three days," Arthur explained.

"What? No, that's impossible…" Morgana shook her head. She tried hard to recall what had happened but her mind was blank. The last thing she remembered was Gwen helping her get dressed in the morning as they discussed the feast that Uther had planned in celebration of her birthday.

"I know you don't want to believe it, but you're not as skilled a rider as you think you are," he said in a teasing tone.

Morgana opened her mouth to remind him about how she had once made him cry when she beat him in a horserace when they were younger, but all that came out was a cry of pain instead. She clutched the side of her head where the throbbing pain was.

"My head hurts."

"I'll get you some water." Arthur patted her shoulder and stood up. It was then when Morgana realised how peculiar Arthur looked. Instead of the grand knight's armour he wore proudly during the day, he was donned in a dull, ragged tunic and worn-out looking breeches. How odd… what was he up to?

"What are you wearing?" Morgana laughed. She scanned over her surroundings quickly. "Wait, where _am_ I?"

The bed she laid in was in the corner of a tiny room that was dark and dusty and there was nothing covering the floor but dirt. On the other side were a crammed kitchen area and a simple dining table. Morgana could tell it was still daytime from the sunlight pouring through the small glassless window.

"At home," Arthur said as he poured her a cup of water.

Morgana rolled her eyes. "Be serious, Arthur."

"I am serious, Morgana." he frowned. He returned to his sitting position on the edge of the bed and handed her the drink. Morgana was about to take a sip when she noticed there were bits of dirt in the water and decided she wasn't that thirsty.

"No, you're not. This isn't our home," she said.

She searched his face for any signs that he was playing a prank on her, but his expression was completely straight. Either Arthur had learnt how to become a brilliant liar overnight, or he really was telling the truth.

"Then pray tell, where do you think we live?" Arthur's inquiring voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Tall towers, high ceilings, stained glass windows, red silk curtains… any of that ring a bell?"

"It sounds like you're describing a castle to me."

"I _am_." Morgana was growing more and more irritated, but her severe headache made her feel weak and prevented her from raising her voice. "Honestly, what is going on? My head feels like it's about to explode and every bone in my body is aching. Please, just take me home."

"You're not listening to me! You are home. This is your home, Morgana. It has been for your entire life," Arthur said, clearly frustrated.

"Where is Uther?" she demanded.

"Who?" he blinked.

"Your _father_."

Arthur sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I'm sure your head's just a bit fuzzy. Just have some rest and I'm sure everything will come back to you."

"You really are unbelievable! Can I speak to someone who isn't a prick?" Morgana scowled. She had no patience for Arthur's foolishness. "Where is Gaius? Or Gwen?"

"Are you just making these names up?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not! Gwen is my handmaiden!"

Arthur let out a hearty laugh. "You have a handmaiden now, do you?"

"Yes, I do!" Morgana said indignantly. Arthur paused to examine her face in a similar manner that she had done to him earlier.

"Ah, I see. You come out of unconsciousness and the first thing you do is try to trick your poor brother!"

_What?_

"Did you just say you were my _brother_?" Morgana questioned him incredulously.

"Well, I am your brother…" Arthur was utterly confused by her behaviour.

"No you are not!" she said firmly.

Arthur looked hurt. Morgana felt a pang of regret for saying what she did, even though she didn't have a reason to be. She _was_ right after all; Arthur Pendragon was not her brother, but the wounded look in his eyes made her feel a sort of sympathy towards him that she had not felt in a very long time. Morgana finally came to the realisation that this was not a hoax. She had no idea what was going on, but she knew that all of this was real.

There was a moment of silence.

"Why would you say such a thing?" Arthur finally spoke, quietly.

"I… I don't know."

It was true, in a sense. After all, she really didn't know what situation she was in or what she should do. She was so bewildered, and the pain she was feeling wasn't exactly helping matters.

"Maybe I've lost my memory because of the fall," she suggested, even though she was certain that wasn't the case.

"Everything will be fine, don't worry." Arthur gave a weak smile in an attempt to console her, although his own face was etched with worry. Suddenly, he got up and headed towards the door. "I'm going to go speak to Mador,"

"Who is Mador?" Morgana asked. Her question appeared to only make him more concerned.

"Stay put. I won't be gone for long."

And with that he left the house, leaving Morgana alone in the dark, accompanied only by her endless string of questions and a cup of dirty water.


	2. Two

**Author's Note:** Just wanted to say a big thank you for those who reviewed! Anyway, without further or do, here is the second chapter!

* * *

Continuum

**TWO**

It had been almost a week since Morgana regained consciousness, and she was still nowhere close to fixing the predicament she was stuck in. On top of everything else, she realised she had also lost her magic. She could no longer feel it flowing through her veins or linger on her fingertips. Yet another mystery that she had to solve. She had never felt so powerless in her life! She decided it would be best not to say anything else about her real life or the world that she came from. Nobody would believe her, and it certainly wouldn't help matters. Every morning when she woke up in that uncomfortable bed, she had to assure herself that she would find a way back to reality somehow.

Willowdale was a peculiar little place. The village had no more than forty residents, and everyone seemed to know each other well. In a community this small, it was inevitable that the news of Morgana's shocking 'memory loss' would spread like wildfire. Mador, who Morgana found out was the closest thing to a physician that Willowdale had, had come to see her but couldn't provide any answers for them. It was then that Morgana missed Gaius' expertise. Ever since she arrived in Camelot as a little girl, Gaius had been the only person she would trust and listen to when it came to her health. Mador's only advice was for Morgana to have lots of rest. Not like there was anything else for her to do in the village anyway.

Arthur had been very cooperative and understanding. He did not mind explaining things to her, even if they seemed obvious or trivial to him. He told Morgana a lot about their family background. Their father, Renad, was a cotton farmer who died four years ago due to illness. Morgana was only fifteen at the time, and Arthur knew that in order to provide for her, he would have to start working immediately. So Arthur gave up his aspiration of becoming a blacksmith and took over his father's farm. Ever since then, it had always been just the two of them together, tending and harvesting their crops. Arthur himself couldn't remember much about Lida, their mother, because she passed away soon after giving birth to Morgana.

She had to admit that she had a lot of respect for this Arthur. Sure, they were very poor, but he worked hard from dusk to dawn every single day. She couldn't imagine the Arthur from her world being able to be so independent and responsible at such a young age. The Arthur she knew had always been so immature and foolish. He was overly trusting to those who he shouldn't trust, and as stubborn as a mule whenever anyone insinuated that he was in the wrong. It was part of the reason why she was so angry Uther would blindly choose Arthur as his heir to the throne without even acknowledging her… surely she would be a better ruler for Camelot. Besides, the crown would look so much nicer on her head.

Morgana sat at the dining table, drumming her fingers on the wooden surface repetitively. Arthur had been off working almost the entire day, and she was unbearably bored. In fact, she was so bored that she had actually offered to help out with some of the farm work, but he refused and told her to rest and regain her strength. She picked at the stale bread on her plate. It was barely edible to Morgana, but she knew they couldn't afford to buy anything else.

She looked down at what she was wearing. It was the only dress that she owned, a bland white dress that reached just below her knees. It was far too short for Morgana's liking. She found it almost scandalous, but Arthur had explained to her that she had outgrown the dress years ago, but continued to wear it anyway since it was easy to do farm work in. Morgana suspected the real reason why she had kept the dress for so long was to save money. The fabric felt horribly rough to her skin, which was accustomed to silk of the highest quality.

The sound of the door swinging open broke Morgana from her deep thoughts. She turned around on the chair to face a very sweaty and tired looking Arthur.

"Finally, you're home!" Morgana said with relief. "Honestly, I've been bored out of my mind all day."

"There's something I need to tell you," Arthur said solemnly.

"What is it?" Morgana frowned. She knew from his tone of voice that it couldn't have been good.

Arthur took a deep breath. He looked almost ashamed to say what he was about to say. "I didn't tell you before because I didn't want to worry you, but… we don't have enough money to live here anymore."

Morgana couldn't say she was surprised. She hadn't been in this world for very long, but it was clear from the very beginning that Arthur was struggling financially.

"What should we do then?" she asked.

"I don't know, to be honest." Arthur sighed. "This village is almost dead. No merchants ever come to trade anymore and people are moving to other places that are flourishing."

An idea quickly formed in Morgana's head. "Then why don't we?"

"What?"

"Why don't we move somewhere else with better prospects?" Morgana suggested. "I think we should move to Camelot."

"Morgana, I hope you're not still thinking about your castle fantasy." Arthur gave her a stern look.

"No, I'm being completely serious. It's a huge city and there's a wealth of opportunities there. It would be impossible for you not to find a well-paying job. Maybe you can even become a blacksmith like you've always wanted!"

Arthur took a moment to consider what she had said. "Everything there is also more expensive. How can we afford to buy a house?"

"I can work as well," she said.

"Morgana—"

"Please, Arthur." she quickly cut him off. "Do you really want to spend the rest of your life farming? Don't you want something bigger? You said so yourself, there is nothing left for us in this village."

Morgana hoped that she had said the right things to persuade him. She needed answers about what was happening to her, and she knew she wasn't going to get them here in Willowdale. She _had_ to go to Camelot.

"Alright."

"Really?" Morgana's green eyes brightened.

"Alright," Arthur repeated, suddenly full of conviction. "We are going to Camelot."

* * *

"Morgana, we're lost!"

They had been travelling for three days, and Arthur was starting to get worried whether or not they were ever going to reach Camelot. Morgana knew that he was afraid of the unknown. After all, before this he had never stepped foot outside of Willowdale in his entire life.

Before they had set off on their journey, they packed the few belongings that they had in the house and said goodbye to Willowdale. Of course, it was far more difficult for Arthur since he was leaving the only home he had ever known. Morgana, on the other hand, couldn't wait to depart and never come back.

A part of her was wishing that she had left Arthur and gone to Camelot by herself. It turns out this Arthur was more similar to her Arthur then she had originally thought. They were both terribly impatient and whiny.

"Settle down, Arthur, we're going the right way," she assured him as she steered the horse.

They only had one horse, so they had to ride together. Alfie was a handsome brown stallion, the same one that Arthur said she was riding when she fell and hit her head on the ground. Arthur thought Morgana would have been too traumatised to ride again after the accident, so he was surprised when she climbed onto the horse with no hesitation. He was even more astonished when she insisted she sit in front and take the reins.

"How do you know? For all you know, we could be going the opposite direction!" Arthur complained.

"Can you just trust me?" she snapped. "We're close, I know it."

Morgana always had a good sense of direction. When she and Arthur used to sneak out of Camelot as children and play in the forest despite Uther forbidding them, she would always be able to find the way back without a problem.

"Fine, but if you're wrong—"

"There it is!" Morgana cried out in joy.

There it was, in all its glory. In the distance was the magnificent city of Camelot, just as Morgana had remembered it to be. For a moment she almost forgot she was in some strange world that didn't make sense. She was home.

"What was that you were saying, Arthur?" she smirked victoriously.


End file.
